BitConnect

Zazzle Shop

Friday, May 13, 2011

It would take a lifetime of commitment to replicate the Zen state of “Dudeness” Jeff Bridges achieved on Joel and Ethan Coen’s beloved The Big Lebowski. Thankfully, looking a little more like The Dude only requires a winning bid in a memorabilia auction.

Die-hard Lebowski trivia nuts might be able to tell you that Bridges’ trademark, zip-front cardigan sweater was designed by Oregon-based Pendleton Woolen Mills. And that of the four created for the costume department, only one was worn by Bridges at all times (to “thus delve deeper into the 'Dudeness' required of the role," according to Profiles In History, which is currently auctioning off the clothing item).

That’s right: The sweater is being auctioned off Saturday and Sunday, May 14 and 15, through Profiles In History, a Hollywood memorabilia house located in Beverly Hills. In addition to the sweater, Profiles is hawking a fully functional Chitty Chitty Bang Bang automobile and an “Everlasting Gobstopper” used in 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

But we know it’s Lebowski stuff you crave, you little urban achievers. So pour yourself a White Russian, hop online, and enter a bid for The Dude’s original sweater. We hear it will really tie your closet together.

The surviving members of Pink Floyd reunited onstage at London's 02 Arena, May 12, 2011.

Photograph by Jennifer Bain

The surviving members of Pink Floyd reunited onstage tonight at London's 02 Arena during a stop on Roger Waters' Wall tour - marking only the second time that Nick Mason, David Gilmour and Waters had played together in the last 30 years. Waters and Gilmour performed "Comfortably Numb" as the crowd at the arena went absolutely insane, and during the finale of "Outside the Wall," Gilmour returned to the stage alongside Mason, who played a tambourine.

As he did on the original 1980/81 tour, Gilmour played his epic solo on the top of the Wall. Last July, Waters promised that Gilmour would play the song during one show on the tour, but drummer Nick Mason's involvement was kept a secret. They last performed together at Live 8 in 2005. Original keyboardist Richard Wright died in 2008.

Confirmation of Gilmour's appearance hit the web hours before the reunion on Gilmour's official fan blog. "I should also remind you that tonight is most definitely a one-off," the blog notes. "David is not repeating his special guest performance at a later occasion, I’m sorry to disappoint those of you with fingers crossed and tickets for later shows."

Last July – shortly before Waters began his Wall tour – he played a brief set with Gilmour at a benefit for the Hoping Foundation. They closed the set with a cover of Phil Spector's "To Know Him Is To Love Him." Waters initially told Gilmour that he wouldn't sing the song with him because of Gilmour's "superior vocal skills."

Rumours that he'd be bringing his guitar work to Run Like Hell proved unfounded, but if the crowd thought that they'd seen the last of David, Outside The Wall proved them wrong! Making for a very moving sight, David and Roger greeted each other as Roger thanked him for taking part. Then, to add further to the special nature of the night, Nick Mason was called to join them. As you'll see from the pictures on this site, Roger played his trusty trumpet, David a mandolin, and Nick a tamborine!

CLICK TO ENLARGE

A wonderful way to conclude such a great show - a show that boasted a number of familiar faces in the audience, including Gerald Scarfe and Jane Asher amongst others. Truly a one-off event, it'll stay in the minds of those present for years to come.

As always, we welcome your views on the evening...and to kick these off, a couple of video clips for you, of the full performance of Comfortably Numb, and the finale:

Comfortably Numb - Roger Waters and David Gilmour reunited on stage at London O2 Arena 12 May 2011

"I clung resolutely to my fear of failure until one day he made one final entreaty," Waters wrote on Facebook. "I quote 'If you do 'To Know Him Is To Love Him' for the Hoping Foundation Gig, I'll come and do 'C. Numb' on one of your Wall shows". Well! You could have knocked me down with a feather. How fucking cool! I was blown away. How could I refuse such an offer. I couldn't, there was no way."

The news sent Floyd fans into a state of hysteria, especially because they didn't know what show on the extremely long tour would be the special one – though the six-show run at London's 02 Arena always seemed like a safe bet because Gilmour lives in close proximity to the venue. Earlier this week Floyd announced a massive reissue campaign (read about it here), which was almost certainly timed to coincide with this event. Press outlets, much like this one, were sure to cover the story - and also mention the details of their reissue campaign.

This will be the third time the former bandmates have reunited since Waters left the band after the original Wall tour in 1981. The first was at Live 8 in 2005, and the second was at the Hoping Foundation benefit last year. Waters says he's interested in a brief Pink Floyd reunion tour, but Gilmour refuses to even consider it. Just this past week Rolling Stone asked Mason about the possibility of a reunion. "There are absolutely no plans," he said. "But Live 8 was fantastic. We did something for other people, but we also proved that we could all work together again. I'm really pleased that my children saw that. I would have thought that could be regenerated at some time. So I live in hope – but that's no reason to put it out on Twitter that 'Nick Says Band to Re-form!'" (Watch a fan-shot video of "Outside the Wall" performed by Mason, Waters and Gilmour below.)

A pair of interviews have been published today with Nick Mason, talking about the massive Pink Floyd reissue programme that was announced this week.

The first of these, with Reuters news agency, was conducted at the Hollywood EMI office, with Nick saying that "There is a slight sense that we are coming to the end of the period where people will buy the physical record with all the packaging and the information and so on. I think it's really important to try and have a last go at that, because if we do end up just downloading everything from now on it would be a shame if there wasn't on record all that good artwork and the things that went with it". Elsewhere in the interview, which you can read here, Nick talks of his pleasure that the Stephane Grappelli guest appearance was found and will be on the Wish You Were Here package. Mason also said he planned to attend the London stop of Waters "The Wall" world tour on Thursday.

The other interview appears in Rolling Stone, where Nick reveals that the earliest material proved the biggest draw for him, particular tracks that emerged "from the very back of the cupboard". When the subject turns to Roger Waters, he said: "I hate to say this, because Roger is insufferable already, but his writing is extraordinary. The lyrics to Dark Side were written by a 20-something-year-old guy, but they're relevant to a 50- or 60-year-old guy. 'Time' or any of those songs have lasted extremely well. And the music has an abstraction to it that allows people to put their own visions on it. The songs leave a lot of scope for people to use their imaginations, paint their own pictures and make it a soundtrack to their thoughts and their lives. And you're most susceptible to that when you're a teenager". The full interview is online here.

My Favorite Blogs

Ian M. Sherwin Giclée

.
All you art collectors out there. Here is a chance to get a Giclee copy of some of Ian M Sherwin work. Ian is planning on doing a whole series of Marblehead, Massachusetts paintings.His work is amazing.